To Each Their Own, a Superman Fanfic
by Death Rose - Matt-El
Summary: Clark Kent is fresh out of high school. At 18, almost 19, he's still trying to find his place in life, like a lot of us. But he has something we don't have. He can do things we can't. But he hides it. Ignores it, for the most part. Until one night, when he gets a dream, of a woman calling his name. Will he find this woman and save her, or will he lose himself?(Rated M to be safe)
1. Chapter 1

A child was calling for help. His leg was caught in a roller coaster, and he was hanging several stories up. A man at the stand below, operating the coaster, had gotten scared and ran away, screaming. A woman sat in a corner, covering her baby, whispering words of encouragement to it. The child started crying, and she tried to shush it. Another ran to her car, and narrowly missed the sign for the amusement park, as it fell.

The park was under attack.

By what, it wasn't clear, exactly.

Clark was aware that he was dreaming, when he used his abilities in the open. He had spent the last 3 years of high school using them in secret, if even at all, attempting to blend, to make them go away. He failed.

In the back of his mind, while Dream-Clark used his heat vision to fuse two pieces of a ride back together, the voice of a woman appeared. One he had never heard before. She sounded urgent, and Dream-Clark tried to listen, to commit the voice to memory.

"Is anyone here...? I really hope this damn thing works... Hello. My name is," Static affected the voice, as she kept talking. "... and I need some help! I am in..." More static. " and I would really appreciate it if someone called the police! Oh, and that's at..." Static again. It was starting to mess with Dream-Clark's head. "Please, help me!"

The voice disappeared, and the dream ended. Clark woke up.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up, startled, and looked around my room, seeing if everything was in it's place. It was. I rolled out of bed, grumbling, and walked over to my closet, pulling out a pair of jeans and a plaid long-sleeved button down. I rolled the sleeves up, and headed down the stairs, smelling eggs and bacon.

"There he is!" my mother, Martha, said. She was at the stove, finishing cooking. My father, Jonathan, was sitting at the table, reading the paper. On the front page there was a picture of a red and yellow blur, with the headline "WHO IS THE SCARLET SPEEDSTER", followed by some article about LexCorp.

I sat across from him, sipping on a glass of water. My mom sat next to dad, and asked me, "So, Clark, what do you plan on doing today?"

"I thought I would head over to Pete's house once I was done with my chores, and then from there go get Lana and see a movie. But aside from that, I don't really know what to do." I said, getting up and forking eggs and bacon onto a plate. I grabbed a piece of toast, and sat down, eating.

"Well, it's good to have a plan anyways.." Mom said. "Also, speaking of Lana, she came over about an hour ago, asking if you were up yet. We told her that you'd be over when you got done with your chores.." She went back to her own plate of food. Dad folded the paper, ate, and left the house to the field a few minutes later. I followed suit, putting my plate in the sink and jogging into the warm, moist June air.

Getting to the fields, I started working. I mostly stacked hay-bales for today, but I also painted the fence and got the produce boxed up to go into town. This was the only time of day I used my abilities, because I feared that I might hurt someone with them. You see, I'm not a normal human. I mean.. I look normal, but.. I just don't _feel_ like a human. I can do all these chores in a few seconds if I felt like it. I could lift the tractor with one hand and the truck in the other... I'm a freak.. Which is why I only used my abilities in secret, whether that be hidden at school , or here at the farm. But I don't anymore. I want to be a normal man. So, I work normally.

A few hours later, I'm finished with my chores. After I get the OK from dad, I take my truck into town, heading towards my friend Pete's house. Pete Ross has been my best friend since childhood, given that we were both four, needed a friend, and was obsessed with aliens.

I got to his house, and Pete answered, wearing a black t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. He has blonde hair, brown eyes, and he almost always has a mischievous grin on his face. His shirt showed his impressive build, as he played football . I walk to the truck, waving to him. Pete follows, the screen door shutting behind him. We climb into the truck and drive off.

"Clark, where are we going? I need to know, so that I can let mom know when I might be home." Pete said, pulling his cell from his jeans.

"Well, we're gonna get Lana and go see a movie. You're welcome to invite Lacey if you want." I say, nudging him.

"I hate you sometimes... What're we seein'?"

"Not sure.. Whatever looks good."

"Alright."

We get to Lana's house a few minutes later, which takes longer than if I went to hers then Pete's, due to her living next door to me. Lana's been my crush since we met, almost right after I met Pete. It had taken years, but we've been dating since the end of senior year. I park and get out, going up and knocking on her door, lost in thought.

"Clark!" Lana's standing there, shaking my arm. I glance at my watch and realize that several minutes have passed.

"Sorry," I shake my head. "Ready to go?"

She smiles, and waves Pete over. "Come on in, I'll be ready in a few. Sit down, make yourself comfy." She bolts up the stairs, and her door shuts.

Pete and me sit awkwardly on the couch, him looking at the ceiling, me staring at the floor. A few minutes later, Lana came down, wearing a pair of jeans, tall boots, and a white T-shirt. Her long red hair was pulled back in a simple pony-tail, her green eyes smiling. We left, and got to the movies. It was some romance movie. Pete sighed, and we got Lacey, his girlfriend. We went in, and saw the movie.

There's a fire here now. I'm locked inside, stuck in a room .

During the movie, I had kissed Lana. A simple enough act. But I heated up. My heat vision went off. Next thing I knew, there were two holes on the screen, and the place was on fire. I had grabbed Lana, Pete, and Lacey and ran out, but went back in to help others. When the last person was out, several support beams fell in front of the door. I ran to another room, and I'm currently in here. If I wanted to, I could walk through the flames, although that would look weird. And I'd be naked. So I'll either put it out, or wait for a fireman.

About three minutes later, my phone goes off. I pick it up, and I hear Lana on the other end.

"Clark! Are you OK? You did get out, didn't you?" she said, worry in her voice. I felt a pang of guilt from not being able to tell her about my abilities, but I try to ignore it.

"No, I didn't. But I'm safe. I made it to the basement: The door was unlocked." I say into the phone. Not one of my better excuses, but it's up there. I'm really standing in a small circle of flames caused by support beams. Luckily she doesn't catch the lie, or at least doesn't press it.

"Alright.. I'll tell the firemen when they get here. Be careful, Clark."

"I will be." I say, hanging up. I sigh and look around, then I jump the flames, headed towards the basement. I tear the handle off the door, and walk down the stairs, shutting the door behind me. The basement is somewhat small, with a spare projector and some films. The room smells like smoke, and I glance down to make sure my clothes are in check . My boots are a bit charred and my jeans are fine, but my shirts completely burned off. I go over and look into a small mirror in the corner.

My raven hair is loose and messy, hanging in front of my brilliant blue eyes. I'm built, larger than Pete, and my muscles are larger. I stand at 6'3, and weigh 290 lbs. Despite this, I never played football, because I might hurt other kids. And dad won't let me play. I glance around, finding an old shirt, which I pull on. And now... I wait.

Roughly 15 minutes later, a few firefighters come into the basement. I cough wildly when I get out, to put on a show. Mom and Dad show up a few minutes later, and we're free to leave about 45 minutes later, after some questioning. We get home, and the dreaded lecture comes, like I expected.

"What the hell was that, Clark!" Dad said, pacing furiously. "If they had been just a _tiny_ bit curious-"

Mom cut him off. "Jonathan, please, calm down. Clark didn't mean to, right Clark?" She looked over at me.

"Of course not!" I said. "I just kissed Lana and it.. Happened. My heat vision went off and next thing I knew I was hauling people out." I shrugged and looked up at dad, seeing him sit down in a chair, holding his head in his hands. "I didn't know it was gonna happen!"

"We know that Clark. We just worried that someone might have seen you, that's all. And I don't think anyone did!" She said, seeing me getting ready to retaliate.

I sighed. If anyone saw me, then my life was over. I'd be labeled a freak of nature and shipped off to some lab so that they could study me. I'd be tortured and cut apart. I shuddered at the thought.

After my lecture, I went to my room, laying down and staring at the ceiling. My phone buzzed about 5 minutes later, on my nightstand. Pete, sending a text message. I picked up the phone, opening the message.

 _'Meet me outside in 10. Need to talk.'_

Well, then. He's being cryptic. I sigh, and sit up in bed, standing and stretching. I go downstairs, let mom and dad know that I'm going with Pete, and head outside, waiting on the curb. Pete drives up about 10 minutes later, like he said. I climb into the truck, and he drives in silence for several minutes. I break the silence first.

"So... Where are we going?"

"Clark, cut the bullshit. If you don't know why I picked you up, then you're stupid." He said, his hands clenching around the steering wheel.

I thought for a moment, and said quietly, "Is this about the theater?"

He looked over at me. "Yeah, that's what this is about. We're here. Now, what the hell happened?!"

I sat, silent for a minute, then answered slowly, "I'm... Different."

"Yeah, I know that," Pete said. "You're 6'3, 29-something, and you don't play football, you talk with a way higher vocab, even though you're a c-average student." He thought for a minute. "And you somehow always end up in the paper, or on the scene of a crime. Or you used to, anyway. Now, I'm not sure."

I cleared my throat, calmly got out of the truck, and walked over to a somewhat large tree, and gripped the base of it. Pete watched in both amazement and horror as I uprooted the tree. I laid it down gently, and turned to him. "Different."

Several hours later, Pete and I were standing outside the door to the storm cellar, with dad unlocking it, muttering curses to himself.

"Now, Pete, if I find out you breathed a _word_ of this to anyone, so help me I will track you down to the ends of the Earth and kick your ass." Dad said, pulling the lock off of the door. Pete nodded furiously. And with a nod, h opened the doors and descended down the stairs.

We followed him, and he was standing next to a large object under an old sheet. "What are we doing down here, Dad?" I said, as he grabbed the hem of the sheet.

"Clark, you know that you're adopted, right?" I nodded. "Well, that's not entirely true.. We found you, about 17 years ago, out in that field right there.. After the meteor shower."

I swallowed. What was he getting at? I wanted to say something, but words wouldn't form n my mouth.

"Clark... You're not... Well..." He said, pulling the sheet away. I was left staring at a silver, gleaming ship-looking object. I looked at him.

"Clark... Let's just say you're not from Kansas."


	3. Chapter 3

Not fair. That's the thought that replayed itself in my head as I ran away from the house. It's not fair that I'm the only one in Smallville with powers, it's not fair that my birth parents didn't want me, no matter what planet or solar system or galaxy they're from. I don't care that I'm an alien, but why. Why did they send me here? I vaguely heard Pete and dad yelling my name from the front of the house as I ran faster than any car. I ran and jumped, sailing high above the town, and landed with a hollow thud on the old water tower. My cell phone buzzed and I set it down and turned it off, knowing it was dad.

I sat there, trying to calm down, but I felt myself crying. All the sounds from Smallville hit my ears at once, and I winced, trying to ignore them. I saw under the ground, and I smelled everything from here to the edge of Kansas. I sighed, and again tried to keep myself under control.

An hour later, I was done crying, and my powers were under control again. I sat there until around midnight, and I stood, stretching my legs. I glanced down at my phone, then at the rusted ladder to the top of the tower, and shrugged. Nobody can get up here, and if they can, nobody wants up here. I broke several rungs along the ladder just in case, and jumped home.

When I finally got home, I just climbed through the window to my room, not wanting to disturb mom and dad. I laid down in bed, and was asleep within seconds.

I slept soundly that night, no weird dreams. The next morning, I went downstairs and saw mom curled up in dads big chair, asleep, dried tears on her face. I shook her slightly, to wake her.

"Mom? Are you OK?" I asked, gently. She sat up, and looked at me, confused for a moment. Her voice cracked when she spoke.

"Clark, honey. When did you get back? Are you OK?"

"Mom, I'm fine. I got back around midnight last night. I asked if you were OK. Are you?"

Fresh tears spilled down her face, and she choked back a sob, before gesturing to the couch. "Take a seat, Clark.. I have something to tell you.."

I sat on the couch, watching mom as she dried her face, and she took my hand gently.

"Clark, last night, before you got home, the police called me... They found your dad dead, in his truck... It flipped over on the side of the road and he took a pretty bad hit... They're saying that an 18 wheeler hit him..." She choked back another sob, and then watched me, as I rose and hugged her tightly.

"Everything's gonna be OK, mom." I said quietly, then checked my watch. "I'll be back at noon. I'm just... I'm going to go clear my head, and I'll bring back lunch or whatever, is that OK?"

She looked up at me, dried her face once more, and stood. "Yeah... I need to go... do... Something... I need to clear my head too... Be careful, Clark.. Please...?"

"Yeah, I'll be careful. Love you." I ran out the door and jumped away, to that old water tower. I sat there for awhile, thinking, and before I knew it, I was crying. _Why did he have to die! It should have been me. I was the son that ran. I was the one that wasn't able to accept who I am..._ I saw my phone and turned it on, just in case anyone needed to contact me. I had a few missed messages, so I clicked on one and read it. Pete, Lana, Lana, Pete. Dad. I clicked on the latter message, reading it. Soon enough I was crying harder.

" _Clark, I know that you're angry that we never told you about your heritage, but… You have to understand, we were scared enough, taking in a child we just found. On top of that, the things you could - can - do… We thought you were going to be taken from us. I know you can do amazing things, son, and I'm sure that you can help people with these gifts that were given to you. And I know I may not be your biological father, but I raised you the best that I could, and as far as I can tell… You're my son, not some man's from some planet out there. I love you, Clark. And I am very proud of the man you've turned out to be. Please come home."_

After a few hours, I sprinted home, with a bag of fast food in my hands. I set it on the table, my heart and head heavy with guilt. I yawned.

"Clark, honey, are you okay?" Mom said, worried.

"Yes."

"You don't seem okay. Clark… Sweetie.. Do you need me to call Lana, Pete? Lex? That nice boy Arthur? You know, from the school."

"Mom, I'll be fine. Thanks. I think I'm gonna go to sleep, though." I said, yawning again.

"Okay… Sweet dreams.."

I went upstairs and laid down, trying to contain my anger.

As I laid in my bed, tears dancing in my eyes, I couldn't help but feel exhausted from the day's events. I laid my head back and fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

I woke up the next morning to a crash. I ran downstairs to see what was wrong.

Mom was downstairs cooking some eggs and had forgotten her hot-pad, and had burned her hand. I ran over, getting some cold water, and blew on it with cold breath. I poured the cold water on it, glad that I had gotten here before any real damage could be done. "Mom, are you okay?!"

"Yes, Clark, I'm just fine." She said, waving me away.

"Okay… You're positive?"

"Yes, Clark. Go on, go do your chores, go out and talk to your friends. I'll be okay here." Mom said, pushing me towards the door. "Honestly, Clark. Go on."

I sped off and did all my chores, finishing within the hour. After I had finished, there was an empty feeling from just doing my own chores. I did all of dad's chores silently, at normal speed, finishing about 2 hours and a half afterwards.

Heading inside, I ate my breakfast while mom talked about what she was planning on doing in town today. "...And then I'm going to go to Lana's aunt's flower shop, and maybe get some roses or dandelions for your dad's grave, maybe go to the thrift store. What are your plans for today?"

"I might go over to Pete's, maybe Lana's," I shrugged. "There's not really much I felt like doing today. Maybe I'll just stay home, watch old movies or read or something." I took another bite of bacon.

"Okay, well… If you want to have some friends over, that's okay too. I know it's going to be a hard adjustment, so… You feel free to tell me if you need anything." She said, lightly brushing a lock of my hair out of my face. I couldn't help but feel even more depressed at that. I may have lost my dad, but she lost her husband, her best friend, and I was sitting here feeling sorry for myself. I sighed and went and put a movie in, laying down as she walked out the door. I dialed Lana's number after realizing that I didn't feel like watching a movie.

"Hello?" Her voice rang through the phone, and I could hear a somewhat loud crashing noise in the background. Water. She was getting ready to shower.

"Hey, Lana. It's Clark. Are you doing anything important?" I said, my voice wavering. She picked up on it in record time.

"Give me just a minute, okay? I was about to shower and come up to see you, but my shower can wait." She set the phone down, and I heard the water stop crashing against the tub. She put her ear back on the receiver. "Clark, honey, listen. I'll be over as soon as I can, okay?"

"Okay.." I said, my voice catching. The phone call ended, and I laid back against the couch, trying to calm down. Lana knocked on the door 30 minutes later.

She was standing there, a worried look on her face. Her green eyes searched me, attempting to find what was wrong. He hair was pulled into a hasty ponytail and she was wearing simple jeans and a tank top. The moment I opened the door she launched herself at me and hugged me tightly. "Are you okay?! What happened?"

I hugged her back before answering. "I.. My dad died last night.. And… And I wasn't sure if I was able to be here alone."

"Alone? Where's your mom?" Lana asked, confused.

"She went to your aunt's flower shop for some flowers and stuff for the grave. Plus she needed to distract herself."

"Ahh… Okay. Well, I'll stay here with you. Okay?" She said, taking her tennis shoes off. She walked over and sat on the couch, and I followed, sitting down. Lana had put a movie in, and was now leaning her head on my shoulder, my arm around her.

I don't really know how or why, but we had fallen asleep somehow, and when I woke up, Lana was in the kitchen, cooking something. From the aroma in the air, I assumed it was pasta.

I sat up, blinking the sleep out of my eyes. "Lana?" I called out, yawning. "What time is it.. And what are you doing?"

"I figured that you'd be hungry when you woke up, so I'm making spaghetti. 5:30." She walked over, kissing me lightly on the cheek.

We ate the food she made, and it was good. Soon after, we sat on the couch and watched a movie, bored out of our minds.

Eventually, Lana had to go home because she had chores to do. I went outside and breathed in the air, clearing my head. I thought of the abilities that I had, apparently from an alien planet. I thought about my strength, my speed, my ability to heat things up with a glance, or jump higher than anyone else on the planet. Is this what the people on my homeworld did all the time? Am I just a normal being from their perspective? If I am, why send me away? Am I here to do something great, to rule over humans, or to make my own fate? There are so many questions, so much I don't know.


	4. Chapter 4

A few months later, I woke up and looked out my window, lost in thought. I had submerged myself in farm work, day after day. Mom was worried about me, and so was Pete, Lana- everyone. I didn't care. I worked, and after that, I would obsessively train my abilities, wishing I could have saved Dad that day.

It was September, and I was in the field, trying to determine my upper levels of strength, endurance, and my max height when I jumped. I was running around the field, using me super speed, moving faster than any car, and slowly increasing. I was able to run around the 75 acre field 297 times before I had to catch my breath, all within 20 minutes. After getting a quick drink, I lifted all 3 tractors, and several bags of concrete, weighing in at 75,960 lbs.

I was sick and tired of the dreams, which had only gotten worse. Almost every night, the woman that spoke in my dreams revealed more and more. I sighed and went into the house, deciding to shower and try to get some sleep.

I went into the house and showered, and pulled on some pyjama pants and a tank top. I laid in bed and waited for sleep to come, and eventually slipped into an abyss.

He was standing in a metal room. A woman with dark brown, almost black, hair sat in the corner, startled by Clark's sudden arrival. She stood, shivering violently.

"Who… Who are you?" She said, eyeing him frightfully.

"Clark Kent. And you are?"

"Lois… Lois Lane… How are you here?"

"I went to bed and woke up here. How did you get here?"

"Nobody came in… And I was snooping when Lex caught me."

Clark could see that the woman was beautiful, even in the dim lighting. She was about 5 feet 8, an inch taller than Lana, and was built the same. Her eyes were brown, like melted chocolate, and intelligent. Clark immediately realized who she was.

"Excuse me, Ms. Lane.. Did you contact someone saying you were locked up?" He said, nervous, although he didn't know why.

"Yeah.. Wait. That was you! Why haven't you contacted the police yet?!" She yelled, angry. Clark flinched; she didn't need to yell.

"Your message was mostly static. I didn't hear where you were."

"LexCorp Labs, Metropolis, Missouri."

"Ms. Lane, if I may… It takes a good 5 hours to get there from Smallville."

" _Smallville_?!"

"Smallville, Kansas…"

Lois punched Clark in the chest, but noticed how firm he was. She dropped her hand, fuming. Who was this Kansas farm boy anyway?

Clark finally spoke up, after several minutes. "What if I came to get you? Could you possibly wait just one more week? I could-"

Lois cut him off, quickly. "How would you come and get me? I'm 40 floors up, and it's not like some stupid farm boy from Kansas can just waltz in and get me."

Clark sighed, scratching his head. "I was just seeing if I could help. I'll think on it, and see if I can figure something out. If I can't in the next week, I'll call the police. Deal?"

"Deal," Lois said. "But how will I know if you figure something out?"

Clark smiled. "Well, I'll just hope I see the beautiful girl in my dreams."

And with that, he woke up.

I sat upright in my bed. I needed to figure things out _now_. I glanced at the clock, seeing it was 9 in the morning, and got a quick shower, pulling on some jeans and a red T-shirt. I slid my phone into my pocket, and sped out of the house, running to Pete's.

I got to his house and banged on his door, and he answered, obviously annoyed with me. "Clark, what the _hell_ are you doing here?"

"To put it bluntly, I need to tell Lana about my powers, and I need to leave Smallville. Awake now?" I said in a rush.

Pete was silent for a minute, then sighed. "There's no stopping you, is there?"

"Nope."

"Gonna explain why you need to leave and tell Lana?"

"In your dreams."

"Alright, I guess. Let me get my keys. Don't speed off."

Pete came out 5 minutes later with jeans, a T-shirt, and tennis shoes on, his keys jingling in his hand. "Get in, loser." He said with a grin. I climbed into his truck and we drove down to Lana's house, silent. We were there 5 minutes later, and I got out and walked up to her door. I took a deep breath and knocked.

As if right on cue, Lana opened the door and jumped into my arms, peppering my face with kisses. "Pete told me you were coming," she explained. "So I figured I'd greet you!" I glared at Pete, then set Lana down, hugging her.

"Well… I wanted to talk to you about something." I said.

"And that is?"

"I'd rather talk about it somewhere else.."

"Alright… Let me get my shoes, 'kay?"

Later, we were in the same clearing where I showed Pete my powers. Pete sat on the ground nearby, waiting. "Anytime, Clark."

I looked at Lana, and took a breath. "I remember in freshmen year you asked me why I didn't play football, and I told you I had severe asthma. Remember?" I said, watching her.

"Yeah…? What does this have anything to do with this?" She asked.

"In a way, yeah. And remember how I told coach that I just wasn't allowed to play?"

"Yeah?"

"That was true, but not for the reason you may think."

"Clark, what are you saying?"

I walked over to a tree and lifted it, then hoisted another. I threw them into the air and split one apart with my heat vision, then ripped the second in half. "Lana, what I'm saying is… I'm not normal. I'm different."

She pondered this for a moment, before saying, "Are you a meteor freak like the ones we saw in high school?"

"No."

"Is there any relation to them?"

"Yes."

"And that is?"

"I'm the reason there were meteors."

She narrowed her eyes and put her hand on her hips.

"What do you mean, Clark?"

"I came here with the meteor shower, and I'm not exactly human." I said, looking at the ground. She sat on a log, thinking.

"Why.. Why tell me this now, Clark?"

"I need your help. I want to help people with the things I can do, but I don't know what to do." I said, determined.

She let out a long sigh, then stood and walked over to me, crossing her arms.

"Then let's do this."


End file.
